The present invention relates to an information processing system, information processing apparatus, methods, a program and a recording medium. More particularly, the present invention relates to an information processing system capable of verifying the identity of a user with ease and a high degree of reliability, information processing apparatus, methods, a program and a recording medium.
In recent years, strengthening of security of financial transactions is expected. As represented by a cash card in bank transactions, for example, a combination of a magnetic card and a personal identification number (or a password) is used as conventional means for authenticating the identity of a user. Since data recorded on a magnetic card can be read out relatively with ease, however, a magnetic card can be falsified easily. In addition, a personal identification number can be seen and stolen when the user enters the personal identification number. Thus, in order to prevent a cash card from being falsified, an IC card or the like is used as a cash card. As an alternative, some financial institutions have taken a countermeasure such as an organism authentication technique capable of verifying the identity of a user even if the personal identification number of the authorized user has been stolen. The organism authentication technique is also referred to as a biometrics technique, in accordance with which, an individual is authenticated to be the true person by determining whether or not information on a living organ of the body of the individual matches information cataloged in advance as information on a living organ of the body of the person. Examples of the living organ are a fingerprint, a retina, an iris and a vein. The information on a living organ can be a characteristic quantity representing the shape of the organ or another attribute of the organ.
If a person is verified to be the true person by adoption of the organism authentication technique prior to a financial transaction, it is possible to prevent the transaction from being carried out by any other person pretending to be the true person even if the personal identification number assigned to the true person or the like has been stolen. A document such as Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-132031 (referred as Patent Document 1 hereinafter) has proposed a method of enhancing security of data communications by authenticating that a specific person is the true person by collating a finger print of the specific person with a finger print cataloged in advance as a finger print of the true person.
In addition, in recent years, the radio communication has been making progress. Thus, it is expected that a diversity of services can be rendered by utilization of the radio communication in financial transactions. For example, it is expected that, by utilization of a radio transmission method using the 2.4 GHz band, exchanges of data can be implemented between apparatus without regard to whether the apparatus are personal computers, peripherals, home appliances or hand phones and, in addition, there has been proposed a technology of communications using an electric conductor different from the ordinary communication media as communications between a transmitter and a receiver. An example of the electric conductor is a human body. The radio transmission method using the 2.4 GHz band is referred to as the so-called Bluetooth communication. For more information, refer to documents such as JP-A-H11-509380 (referred as Patent Document 2 hereinafter) or Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 10-229357 (referred as Patent Document 3 hereinafter).